The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1887-10-20
LINCOLN AT GETTYSBURG.
Interesting Historical Facts Regarding n
| Now Eamous Grafton.

n uay or two before the dedlcatlon
II the National Cemetery at Gettysburg
hr. Lincoln told me that he would be
expected to make speech on the occa-
sion; that he was extremely busy, with
no time for preparation. and that he
greatly feared be would not be able to
acquit himself with credit, much less
to fill the measure of public expecta-
ton. From his hat (the usual recepta-
Gle OF his private notes and memoran-
da) he drew page of foolscap, closely
written, which ne read to me, first re-
marking that it was memorandum OK
what he intended to say. 1t proved to
be, in substance. and, think, in hec
rerbG. what was printed as his Gettys-
burg speech.
After its delivery he expressed deep
regret that he had not prepared it with
greater care. He said to me on the
stand Immediately after concluding the
speech: "Lamon, that speech won't
soar! 1t is fiat failure, and the peo-
pie are disappointed" He seemed more
than ordinarily concerned about what
the people would think OF it. l was
deeply Impressed by his frank and re-
gretful condemnation of the effort. and
especially by his manner of expressing
that regret, and my own impression
was deepened by the fact that the or;l-
tor of the. day, Mr.. Everett, and Mr..
Seward both coincided with Mr.. Lincoln
in his unfavorable view of its merits.
The occasion was solemn, impressive
and grandly historic. The people stood
spell-bound, it is true The vast throng
was hushed and awed into profound
silence while Mr.. Lincoln read his brief
address; but it seemed that this silence
and attention to his words arose more
from the solemnity of the ceremonies
and the awful scenes which gave occa-
sion to them than from any thing the
President said.
On the platform from which Mr.. Lin
coin made his address, and only mo-
ment after its conclusion, Mr.. Seward
turned to MIR. Everett and asked him
what he thought of the President S
speech. Mr.. Everett replied: '1t was
not what L expected of him; l am dis
appointed"
In his turn Mr., Everett asked: "What
do you think of it. Mr.. Seward?" The
response was: 'He has made failure,
and am sorry for it; his speech is not
equal to him. Mr.. Seward then
turned to me and asked: .'NIr Marshal,
what do you think of it?' Il am
sorry to say that it does not t.npress me
as one of his great speeches.
In the face of these facts it has been
repeatedly published that this speech
was received with great eclat by the
audience; that amid the tears, sobs and
cheers it produced in the excited
throng, the orator of the day, Mr..
Everett, turned impulsively to Mr.. Lin
coin, grasped his hand and exclaimed:
Il congratulate you on your success"
adding, in a transport of enthusiasm:
"Ah! Mr.. President, how gladly would
l give all my hundred pages to be the
author of your twenty lines!'
All this unworthy gush, it is needless
to say, is purely apocryphal. Nothing
of the kind occurred. 1t is an after
thought-mere rhetorical bombast, got
ten up to serve the purpose of baseless
adulation. 1t is slander on Mr.. Ev-
erett. an injustice to Mr.. Lincoln and q
Justification of history. Mr.. Everett
could not have used the words attribu-
ted to him, in the face of his openly en-
! pressed condemnation of Mr.. Lincoln s
speech, without subjecting himself TO
the just charge of being a toady and a
hypocrite, and he was neither the one
nor the other.
As matter of fact, Mr.. Lincoln's
great Gettysburg speech fell on the vast
| audience like q wet blanket. At that
time his reputation was confessedly on
the wane. The politicians of the coun-
try-those of his own party, together
with large part of the press-were
casting about for an available caDdi-
date to be his successor, while a great
majority of people were for him.
state it as fact and without fear of
contradiction that this famous Gettys-
burg speech was not received or COM
meuted upon with any thing like hearty
favor by the people. the politicians, or
the press of the United States until after
the death of it author Its marvellous
perfection and its intrinsic excellence
as masterpiece of English compost
ton seemed to have escaped the
scrutiny of the most scholarly critics
and the wisest heads of that day on this
side of the Atlantic. That discovery
was made, we must regretfully see, by
distinguished writers on the other side.
The London Spectator, the Saturday
ReUiew. the Edinburg Reciew and other
English journals were the first to dis
cover, or at least to proclaim, the
classical merits of the Gettysburg
speech.
1t was then that we began to realize
that it was indeed masterpiece. and
it then dawned upon many minds that
we had entertained an angel uEawares
who had left us unappreciated.-WGrd
Lomon, in indianapolis NeUs.
Lost Rivers of Idaho.
IL r